#deep down inside

there’s a lot going on upstairs.

bucky is still an extremely dangerous and capable person, and at the end of the day, the arm isn’t his. shuri built it. he has the privledge of being trusted to use it for good, and the wakandans have every right to exercise their own set of conditions to ensure that happens. 

the dora milaje protect wakanda at all costs. bucky is, quite frankly, a huge fuckin’ risk. he’s lucky they extended this much hospitality from the get go. but, remember, white wolf isn’t white wolf without shuri, ayo, the dora milaje, and wakanda entirely. he owes them big. he has paid that debt through built trust, and now with zemo being in the picture, ayo has every right to scruntize his intentions. 

demonstrating the failsafe made a point.

people keep talking about how this “hurt bucky’s autonomy and healing”, which is understandable, but if you know the inner workings bucky’s character, you know that deep down this soothes a huge portion of his anxieties around losing control and hurting those around him. to know that, if he ever slips back into his old programming, he can essentially have his greatest weapon disarmed would be immensely comforting to bucky.

i strongly believe the fear we see on his face is clearly because of who was in the room when it was demonstrated — and how abruptly it ceased the entire fight. now, walker (and zemo if he wasn’t busy wading through the sewers) knows bucky’s arm can be nuetralized. 

basically, don’t 'woobify’ bucky barnes because even though he was brainwashed, he was still a mass murdering assassin that worked for oppressive regimes and nazi scientists. he remembers those skills, but suffers the impact. they go hand in hand. he is still a threat.